Humsfr

6/21/25 Humsafar.  That is what we named our Airstream.  An Urdu/Hindi word rich with meaning about the one with whom you travel.  In it is the root Safar, basis of such words as Safari.  Hum referring to "we".  This day, I was reunited with my lifetime Humsafar, Joyce who was delivered by my elder son, AJ, to Chaco Canyon.  

Reading the reviews, we took the 'good' road to Chaco Canyon from the north.  Washboarded for miles on end, it was at least passable.  Humsfr was not happy and arriving at the campsite I quickly went to work in the 88 degree heat to set up and also to repair, as best I could, the closet door that fell off its hinges en route and to clean up any spills in the fridge.  I needed to replace a TV onto the wall mount, and re-slot the above kitchen sliding cabinet doors.  Road warriors will have found tricks to keep things closed and tight.  I'm learning! I really wanted Joyce and AJ to enjoy nature and the amazing history of human society that is Chaco Canyon.  

After resting a bit in the shade of Humsfr, we made mashed potatoes and talapia for an early lunch.  As cooling desert breezes arrived, we went to the nearby visitor center and watched the movie in AC comfort, then went down the loop to see our first of numerous masonry villages, pueblos per the Spanish, Hungo Pavi.  The first time you see the masonry with plumb-line straight walls, and crip square edges, the evenly spaced rock layers, the regular window and support beam openings, the multilevel stories, the exacting circular kiva structures--it is breathtaking.  

AJ impressed by the masonry Chaco Canyon(850-1150 CE)

The scale of the site, the straight as arrow roads radiating in so many directions, with steps carved into adjacent mesas allowing ritual pilgrims a direct path, the pottery shards  all give a sense of wonder.  The 'basket weavers' lived in below ground 'pit' housing but in around CE 850 began these enormous masonry projects, likely motivated by spiritual and societal longings, and guided by solar and lunar astronomical milestones.  

Keep an eye out for ancient pottery shards (and leave them there!)

By sheer accident we arrived the day after summer solstice, and the shadow cast by the sun on the east-west cardinal direction wall was almost non-existent, and the timing also led to a ceremonial dance by the pueblo dancers of Acoma, CO, the next morning at the largest and most complex of the structures, known now as "Pueblo Bonito".  Sitting in the flat dirt plaza with a dozen onlookers, the sense of purpose and seriousness in the dancers, including Drummer Miguel's grandson and understudy 5 year old Zachary, made it possible to imagine being there on  a summer solstice in the early CE 1100s, perhaps a year of a lunar maximum, with thousands upon thousands of people from numerous regional tribes, bringing gifts of enormous beams carried or rolled in straight lines from forests at least 50 miles away, laborers, cooks, food, macaws from (now) Central America, Copper, Turquoise, Jett, and even South American chocolate, pots and ceramics, metal work, beadwork, feathers.  The place would be humming with activity.  But as so few actually lived there, they would all disperse to their homelands across now Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. 

Ceremonial Dancers from Acoma Pueblo Tribe

GOUT.  Youch, my right ankle developed a sharp pain and got much worse overnight. It felt awfully like the gout I had in my renal failure days prior to my transplant so I was able to recognize it even though it surprised me since my uric acid, as far as I knew, normalized after that.  It really slowed me down to the point at times where I could barely put weight on  my right foot.  I am not supposed to take Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) but desperate times...!  That improved things to a degree and in the meantime I reached out to my PCP who ordered steroid pills to my next stop in Durango.  So I could walk but little. Joyce and AJ left to take a long evening walk to another site and I stayed back for a nap and to attend to the cabinet doors.

That night, 2 young traveling teachers, Katherine and befriended us and joined us for dinner, shared internet for the download of a stargazing app and for conversation.  They were grateful for the extra blankets and pillow we provided as they had each made a last minute decision to stay overnight, and an early morning breakfast of sausage toast and eggs.  AJ helped drive out and then we swapped out the car and Joyce and I continued to Durango while AJ took the Hyundai Tucson back to Pinetop and on to Tucson.  A tornado where our new son-in-law's family owns a cabin, "Star Island" on Cass Lake, MN, meant that AJ would have good tree work there in a week or so.